


A Knight's Helm

by sphekso



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: M/M, Pre-Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Slight Emotions, Slow Burn, and growing, but they're there, very slight
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-14
Updated: 2016-02-24
Packaged: 2018-05-20 12:22:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6005677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sphekso/pseuds/sphekso
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hux can't help but investigate the sounds coming from Kylo's quarters. He arrives to find him building a mask, and leaves with feelings he can't quite put his finger on. Not yet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Knight's Forging

Hux wasn’t anywhere near Kylo’s quarters. He was several hallways away, but the sound of the knight’s rage—all bangs and crashes and high-pitched screeches—echoed through the corridor all the same. The stormtroopers and technicians must have heard it as well, as the usually bustling thoroughfare was completely barren. No one wanted to be anywhere near Ren when he had one of his fits. There was no telling if—or maybe it was better to say _when_ —you’d be hit with a jolt of a force push slamming you against a wall, or, worse still, an invisible vise-tight grip around your throat.

Hux, however, wasn’t afraid of Kylo. Quite the opposite. He was the General of the First Order, and Kylo was merely Snoke’s lapdog. Even in his anger, the knight knew better than to harm him. Snoke wouldn’t stand for that, and Hux knew that Snoke _not standing for that_ would result in Kylo’s death. A slow, painful death most likely. That thought wasn’t unwelcome to Hux as he came to a halt at Kylo’s door. He hadn’t realized he’d been walking toward the sound of Ren’s fury. He’d been too trapped in his own thoughts. But here he was, and the echoes were louder now—deafening, even—but they’d shifted to more of a steady clanging, almost like metal on metal. The sound was no longer erratic. It had purpose.

Curious, Hux leaned into the ocular scanner next to the bright chrome of Kylo’s door. Green light read his iris, and the door slid up on its tracks. Hux was the only one with access to Ren’s quarters. As General, he could go wherever he pleased. He smiled a little at the thought, and crossed the threshold into Kylo’s receiving room. It was empty. Hux wasn’t surprised. Kylo had no one to receive.

Hux wasn’t familiar with the layout of Kylo’s chambers, but the clanging noise seemed to be coming from a room to the left. Another ocular scanner controlled that door as well, but, curiously, there was also a padlock. _In this day and age?_ Hux thought. Kylo must have been very paranoid to not fully trust the ship’s security systems.

No matter. Hux removed a vibroblade knife from his jacket. He set it to the padlock, and it sliced through like butter. So much for his secondary security. The second ocular scan went just as easily as the first, and moments later, Hux was presented with the knight himself.

Kylo whirled on his heel, robes spinning around him, his expression twisted into pure hatred, with a strong dash of surprise thrown in. “What are you doing here?” he growled. “These are my private—“

“Nothing on this ship is private to me,” Hux said. “You were making a scene, Ren. I had to investigate.” He tilted his head and sneered. “It’s my duty as General.”

“Get out!” Kylo shouted. “You’re not welcome here!”

Hux just stared him down until the knight finally looked away. “Just what are you up to, Kylo Ren?”

“Nothing,” Kylo said, still averting his gaze. “Go away.”

“It doesn’t look like nothing,” Hux said. It was true: there were no telltale signs of one of Ren’s episodes. No smoking debris from his lightsaber. No furniture thrown about from his considerable power with the force. Kylo did have a purpose, and that purpose sat on a steel table in the center of the room: a warped lump of metal. “What are you forging here?”

“It’s none of your business,” Kylo spat. He looked back to Hux, his unruly black hair falling over one eye.

“Everything on this vessel is my business.” Hux stepped up to the table.

“Don’t—“

“Shut up,” Hux snapped. He reached out for the object and hefted it. It was heavy, to be sure. He wasn’t sure what it was made of—titanium, maybe?—but it was dark as night. Curiously, it was hollow, with a large hole at the bottom. Was it…? “Is this meant to be a helmet, Ren?”

“How did you—get away from it!”

Hux chuckled. “It’s not much better than a tin can. Look at the dents! Not to mention the scuff marks. You’ve a long way to go before you can call yourself a metalworker.” He paused, and set the helmet back on the table. Kylo growled. “Calm, Ren. It’s only an observation.”

“You’re insulting me.”

“No. This sort of thing just isn’t in your purview. We have any number of workers who could craft you a fine helmet. So why this? And why the thunderous theatrics?”

“I can’t control it,” Kylo said. “It’s the force. It _calls_ to me. I don’t—I can’t ignore it.”

Hux tut-tutted. “I don’t think it’s the force, Ren.”

“Then what?”

“I think this helmet is wholly unnecessary. I think it’s born of your pathetic need to be… Just. Like. Vader.”

Kylo’s roar reverberated in Hux’s head, but the knight hadn’t even opened his mouth. The helmet flew across the room and clattered against the wall. “You don’t know _anything_!”

“If you say so,” Hux said. “I can’t exactly fault you, you know. If what Snoke says is true, Vader was a great man. Until his fall to the light. But perhaps that was fortuitous as well. I’ll be a greater Emperor than Palpatine ever was.”

“That was thirty years ago,” Kylo said, rubbing at his temples. It seemed the energy he’d been exuding was tiring him. “You couldn’t possibly know that.”

“I know enough. I should thank your grandfather for clearing the way for me. Even if he did kill himself in the process.”

Kylo stared at his boots. “He lost his way,” he said. “I won’t lose mine.”

Hux sneered again. “If you say so.” He paused. “I’ll leave you to your work. It might not be such a bad idea for our Commander to have such a helmet. To strike fear into our troops, as it were.”

“And our enemies,” Kylo said.

“Yes,” Hux agreed. “And our enemies.”

A silence fell between them. After a few moments, Kylo raised his eyes to meet Hux’s. “Why did you really come?” he asked. “I’ve made louder scenes than this. You must have heard before. So why this time?”

Hux squinted at him. “I’m not sure,” he said, “but I found myself at your door nonetheless.”

“You’ve never come into my quarters.”

“No,” Hux said. “I suppose I haven’t.”

“I’ll ask you again: why this time?”

 _Maybe I’m starting to give a damn about you_ , Hux thought, but he couldn’t let Kylo know that. “Curiosity got the better of me.”

“Alright,” Kylo said. “Now get out of here.”

“I’ll leave,” Hux said. “But don’t think I’m leaving because you ordered me to. I’m the one giving orders on this vessel.”

“Believe what you want. I have work to do.” Without even a movement from Kylo, the helmet levitated and placed itself back on the table.

“Quite,” Hux said. He meant to leave then, but something kept him rooted to the spot. Something strange.

“Are you leaving, or are you just going to stand there?”

Hux started. “I’m leaving,” he said. He hoped the shock didn’t register in his voice. For some reason he didn’t _want_ to leave. Maybe he wanted to see the end result of the forging. Yes, that was it, he reasoned. The helmet. Not the knight. _The helmet_. Hux turned and exited the room, returned to the hallway, and set off for—where was it he’d been going? He couldn’t remember. Kylo had mixed him up. How did he have such an effect on him?

Meanwhile, Kylo went back to work. He raised his arm to the helmet, and there was a loud _thud_ as an unseen force crashed against the misshapen metal, evening out one of the dents. He smiled. Hux hadn’t been wrong: he _did_ want to be just like Vader. But he wanted to _surpass_ him. Creating a mask, though? That was just one step on the road. It would be a long one, but Kylo was ready to walk it.

And he might not have admitted it to himself then, but he felt a little funny, too. Something about his encounter with Hux had shaken him. It wasn’t just that his personal space had been invaded. He didn’t care about that. It was just… he couldn’t put his finger on it.

But they’d both felt _something_.

Later that night, as Hux stood on the bridge, hands clasped behind him, he heard the steady clack of Kylo’s footsteps behind him. He didn’t turn to look. “Did you finish your task?” he asked when the footsteps stopped next to him.

“Look and see,” Kylo said. His voice was deeper, amplified, as if through a speaker.

At that, Hux _did_ turn. What he saw brought a rare smile to his lips. “A fearsome tin can, indeed,” he said. He imagined Kylo scowling behind his completed helmet. “Vader would be envious, I’m sure.”

“Thank you,” Kylo said.

“Thank you?” Hux said. It was the last thing he would expect Kylo to say to him. He shook his head. “You confuse me, Kylo Ren.”

“I’m unpredictable,” Kylo said.

Hux almost said: _I like unpredictability_ , but, horrified, he stopped himself. Why would he say something like that?

So for now, the pair said nothing more. They simply stood on the bridge, watching Starkiller Base through the windows and listening to the bustle of officers at their command consoles. “Hux?”

“Yes, Ren?”

Kylo waited a beat. “It’s nothing,” he said. He sounded almost melancholy.

“If you say so,” Hux said. But he had to wonder... “Something changed when I entered your quarters, didn’t it?” he asked.

“Changed? What do you mean?”

“I’m not sure I know myself. But you must have felt it, being _what you are_.”

“I sensed nothing but a very small man interrupting my very important work,” Kylo shot back, but he sounded uncertain.

“You know…” Hux began. “It _is_ fearsome. You did a fine job.”

“Compliments? I’m surprised.”

“Are they unwelcome?”

“Not entirely,” Kylo said.

“Maybe I’ll offer them more often, then.”

“That would be… nice.”

“Yes. Nice.” Then, in spite of himself, Hux scanned Kylo’s body up and down. Black robes, black boots, black gloves, his lightsaber at his belt, and his new mask under his hood. He bit his lower lip.

“General Hux?” a woman asked, most likely an officer.

Hux broke away from his almost trance-like state. “Yes?” he replied tersely. “What is it?”

“You’re needed in the brig. Captain Phasma’s request, sir.”

Hux sighed. “Very well,” he said. “I trust you can oversee matters here, Ren?”

“Of course.”

Hux nodded and took his leave. As he passed through the massive doors leading out of the bridge, he could’ve sworn he felt eyes burning into his back. And, though the thought didn’t present itself fully, he hoped they were Kylo Ren’s.


	2. A Knight's Inquiry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hux encounters a ghost from his past.

Hux frowned as he passed through the biometric scanner at the brig’s entrance. He’d been frowning ever since he’d left the bridge. And why was that? He rarely emoted, whether that meant a frown or even a smile. His face was always taut, with his lips pressed into a thin straight line. But now he was genuinely _frowning_. He was irritated by being called away. He knew if Phasma had requested his presence the matter must be important, but even so, he’d felt rather content on the bridge. Maybe seeing Kylo’s finished mask had cheered him up a little. Yes. It must have been the mask.

“General,” Phasma greeted. Her reflective chrome armor, usually blinding under the harsh lights of the ship’s corridors, seemed dull and flat in the relative darkness of the brig. “I wasn’t sure you’d come, sir.”

“Don’t pretend I wouldn’t listen to my favorite Captain. Now what’s this about?”

“You speak too highly of me, sir. But there’s a prisoner…”

Hux sighed. “I should expect so, this being the brig. Get to the point.”

“He’s asking for you,” Phasma said. “By your name.”

“And? Anyone on this vessel would know my name.”

“He’s not from here, or Starkiller Base, for that matter.”

“We picked him up somewhere else, then?” Hux asked. “Not many outside the First Order would know my name.”

Phasma nodded as much as her suit would allow her to. “My thoughts as well. But we didn’t pick him up. He attempted to dock with us, in his own craft.”

Hux crossed his arms. He didn’t like where this was going. “Is he Resistance?”

“I don’t think so, sir.”

“Hasn’t he been interrogated?”

“Several times. He won’t say where he’s from, or why he came. He’s incredibly resilient. Normally I would’ve had him executed, but since he knows of you, I thought—“

“You thought correctly,” Hux interrupted. “Show me to him.”

Phasma nodded again and led him down a dim hallway. Her blaster rifle clattered against the back of her armor as she walked. She came to a stop at the end of the hall and gestured toward a door.

Hux pressed his hand against the door’s scan-lock, and it slid open with a low hiss. The prisoner lay inside, strapped to an interrogation chair. Hux entered the room and rounded the chair. The prisoner’s head lolled downward, his long hair masking his features. Hux grabbed him by his bangs and jerked his head up. His eyes widened at what he saw. “Captain Phasma,” he said, voice shaking. “Wait outside.”

“Are you alright, sir?”

“I told you: _wait outside_.”

“As you command,” Phasma said. Hux could detect a hint of curiosity in her voice. Or was it concern? No matter. She left the room, and blessedly shut the door behind her.

Hux wasted no time in waking the prisoner. He backhanded him hard. The prisoner gasped for breath as consciousness reached him again. He looked up at Hux with glassy eyes, first confused, then more focused.

“Hux?” he asked, voice raspy. Hux wondered how long it had been since he’d had water. “It’s you, isn’t it?”

“Adahn Jor,” Hux said. “It’s been a long time. I thought you were dead.”

Adahn smiled, or at least conjured the closest thing to a smile he could. “And I thought I’d never see you again,” he said.

“Would that that were true,” Hux muttered. “Why don’t my people know who you are? Did you have your chip removed?”

“Something like that.” Adahn coughed, and a little blood trickled down his chin.

“That must have been painful. It’s not easy removing an officer’s identification.”

“No joke,” Adahn croaked.

“Why did you come back?”

“I had to see you again,” Adahn said. “I went back to my family, but…” He shook his head. “They didn’t know me. The Order took me when I was young. There’s no place for me out there.”

“You’re a deserter,” Hux said. “There’s no place for you here, either.”

“Maybe. But at least _you’re_ here.”

“You had to see me that badly? Badly enough to be captured?”

“Yes,” Adahn replied. “I… I missed you. Is that wrong?”

“What did you tell my officers?” Hux asked, ignoring the question. “How much do they know?”

“Nothing. You were right when you said the removal was painful. I’ve endured worse than anything they can do to me here. And I’d never tell anyone about _us_ —“

“ _There is no us_ ,” Hux said forcefully. “You must know that. Haven’t you let it go?”

“Well, I haven’t,” Adahn said, and smiled again, this time a little wider. “And now here we are. It’s good to see your face again, Hux.”

“That’s _General_ to you.”

“In case you forgot, I don’t serve you anymore. You’re just Hux to me. You’ve been Hux to me ever since we—“

“Silence!” Hux roared.

Adahn’s smile disappeared. “You still can’t accept it, can you? What you felt for me? What we felt for each other?”

“I felt nothing,” Hux said. “I _feel_ nothing.” He paused. “No, that’s not quite right. I _feel_ anger.”

“Anger that I’m back, or anger that you helped me escape?”

“I didn’t. You just managed to slip through the cracks.”

“I don’t believe that,” Adahn said. “No one could slip through the cracks of this place. You must have covered my tracks, and you did that because you cared.”

Hux took a step back. “Cared?”

“About me.”

“I don’t care about anyone,” Hux said. “You would’ve done well to learn that before you came here. What happened… what you did to me… that was _nothing_.”

Adahn raised his brows. “What I _did_ to you? I’m sorry, _General_ , but I seem to recall it was you who slammed me up against that wall and—“ Hux backhanded him again, but he came up laughing, even as more blood spilled from his mouth. “And kissed me,” he finished.

Hux wasted no time responding. “I think we’re done here. You shouldn’t have come back. Or did you think I would welcome you?”

“No. I thought you would kill me.”

“Then I’ll fulfill your expectations.” Hux meant to leave, but he couldn’t bring himself to move his feet. He grimaced.

“What’s the matter, _General_? Could it be you do care after all?”

“ _Phasma!_ ” Hux shouted, then remembered the room was soundproofed. All the interrogation chambers were.

“Your lackey can’t save you from your feelings,” Adahn said.

“Feelings are not something I have the luxury of having,” Hux said. He finally found his footing then, and paced to the door as quickly as he could. He unlocked it and called for his Captain again, more effectively this time.

“Sir?” she inquired.

“Have this man executed,” Hux said.

“As you wish,” she said without hesitation. “Sir… I may be overstepping, but may I ask what this was about?”

“No,” Hux said. “You may not.” He left her there, and as he reached the stairwell up and out of the brig, he heard the sound of a single blaster shot ring out behind him.

He’d expected to feel relieved. He just felt sick.

Back on the bridge, he found Kylo where he’d left him. He stepped up beside him and fixed his gaze on Starkiller Base.

“That didn’t take long,” Kylo said, his voice deepened by his helmet’s filter.

“Executions rarely do,” Hux said simply.

Kylo chuckled through his mask. He turned his head to Hux. “What are you smiling about, General?”

“Smiling?” Hux asked. He raised a hand to his lips and found them to be turned up. He was flabbergasted. Why was he smiling? And why had that sick feeling from the brig evaporated at the sound of Ren’s laughter? He dropped his hand and composed himself. “A man is permitted a smile every now and then,” he said.

Kylo just grunted in response. “General,” he acknowledged, and gave a single nod before spinning on his heel and stalking out of the bridge.

Hux’s sick feeling came back as soon as Kylo left. He needed something to remedy it. “Officer Tahara?” he called to a woman nearby.

“Yes, sir?”

“Have we located anything in nearby systems? Resistance, maybe?”

“We’re looking into a report on Kalos, sir. Intelligence suggests the government could be sympathizers. It’s only preliminary, but… shall I set a course?”

“Yes,” Hux said. “I could use a good bug squashing.”

“Very well, sir,” Tahara said.

Hux linked his hands behind his back as the blur of hyperspace filled the viewport before him. He didn’t particularly care if the Kalosian government was sympathetic to the Resistance or not. He’d have the planet purged. His sick feeling lifted at the thought of it. Maybe he’d send Ren to personally assassinate their royal family. Yes, that was a good plan. He might not have liked Kylo, but he could always rely on him to get the job done. And it would give him a chance to test how much raw _fear_ his new mask could instill. But for now he was content to orbit the planet. _Let them squirm a little before we crush them_ , he thought.

He ordered the bombardment a few hours later. Shortly thereafter, he launched fighters to intercept the sad Kalosian air force. They didn’t stand a chance against the might of the First Order.

The whole ordeal pleased Hux to no end.


	3. A Knight's Collision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hux runs smack into Kylo, sending the pair into a tumble.

Hux found himself pacing the halls near Kylo’s quarters more and more often. He knew there was no reason for it. He knew that. But he couldn’t grasp _why_ he was approaching Kylo in such a way. Sometimes he could hear him raging, could feel the echo of the force from his anger, but he still kept visiting the corridor. He couldn’t seem to help himself, and Kylo never seemed to notice, so Hux figured it was harmless enough. It did keep him from his duties sometimes. _But that’s what my subordinates are for_ , he’d think.

On one of his regular trips to the bridge from his quarters, Hux decided to take a quick detour to Kylo’s doorstep. He’d just walk past briskly. No harm, no foul. He quickened his steps, and, lost in his thoughts, slammed straight into the knight himself as he rounded a corner. They both went tumbling. Hux caught himself with outstretched arms, but Kylo crashed to the ground on his back. It took Hux a moment to realize he was positioned directly above Kylo, face to face. There was maybe a foot between them. He froze up. He was doing a lot of that these days.

Kylo scowled. “General?”

Hux looked down at him in confusion.

“Would you quit staring and let me up?” Kylo asked, his voice powerful.

“I… let you up? Oh. Yes, of course.” Hux took one last look at Kylo’s face. “Why aren’t you wearing your mask?” he asked.

“ _Get. Off. Of. Me_ ,” Kylo commanded.

Normally Hux would’ve erupted in anger at an order from Kylo, but in this case he was rendered speechless. He pushed himself up to stand. Without thinking, he extended his hand to help Kylo up.

Kylo squinted at it. “That’s not necessary,” he said.

Hux blinked at his hand and snapped it back. “I’m not sure why I did that,” he muttered.

“What’s that?” Kylo asked as he stood.

“Nothing. But you didn’t answer my question. Why aren’t you wearing your mask?”

“If you must know, I’m visiting a girl,” Kylo said. “But that wouldn’t be any of your business, would it?”

_A girl_? Hux felt a pang of… what was it? It wasn’t an emotion he was accustomed to, so he couldn’t put a label on it. “You’re not suggesting you’re going on a date, Ren?”

“Is there a problem with that?” Kylo asked.

Hux crossed his arms and tipped up his chin to sniff at him. “You’re the Commander of the First Order. You shouldn’t be consorting with your lowers. It’s unseemly, and unprofessional besides.”

“It’s not romantic, if that’s what you’re asking. But I _am_ consorting.” He smirked. “A man has his needs.”

And there it was again: that pang of something. Hux cleared his throat. “You shouldn’t walk the halls without your helm. You have an image to keep up. One you created yourself, mind.”

Kylo pondered that. “You’re probably right,” he conceded. “I just didn’t want to scare her…”

_Pang._

“…You know how delicate women can be…”

_Pang._

“…Especially this one. It’s adorable, really…”

_Pang._

“…She was frightened of me at first, but I buttered her up…”

_Pang_.

“…General? Are you even paying attention?”

Hux looked away. “Of course,” he said. “I simply don’t care. But do try and keep your tryst a secret. I don’t want it getting out that the great Commander Ren is fucking the help.”

Kylo just laughed at that, deeply and loudly.

“What’s so funny?” Hux demanded.

“Nothing. I’ve just never heard you curse before.”

Hux frowned. There he was again, displaying emotion. “You ought to get your mask on. You shouldn’t be away from your duties for _too_ long.”

“And you?” Kylo asked, tilting his head to the side in curiosity. “What brings you to this side of the vessel?”

“I, ah, have business here.” Were he a blushing man, Hux would’ve been scarlet.

“Business? In the barracks? That’s new.”

Hux’s frown deepened. His hasty excuse had been a little _too_ hasty. This hall led to nowhere but Kylo’s quarters and the barracks, and General Hux would have no ‘business’ with the grunts in their bunks. “I… Captain Phasma suggested…”

“Nevermind,” Kylo said. “Don’t answer, I changed my mind. You’ll only bore me. Until next time, _General_.” He dragged out Hux’s title with a sneer, then turned on his heel and disappeared into his quarters.

Hux felt another pang, then the same emotion came like a wave too powerful for him to fight. He fled the corridor for the safety of his own quarters. His bracelet blinked just as he reached his door. He cursed under his breath. _Yet again, no time to myself,_ he thought, and tapped his bracelet. A holo of Phasma’s face projected above it.

“General, sir?” she asked, her voice crackly through the bracelet’s speaker. It had been on the fritz lately. Hux needed to replace it.

“What is it?”

“Our engineers finished scuttling the prisoner’s ship for parts. They found something in one of the compartments… Well, it’s best if you come down and see for yourself, sir.”

Hux swallowed hard. He didn’t like this one bit. He’d expected to be rid of Adahn as soon as Phasma pulled her trigger. “Can it be delivered to my chambers?”

“I don’t think you would want this carried through the vessel, sir.”

“Very well,” he said. “I’ll be there in a moment. But Phasma… if this isn’t worth my time, there will be consequences.”

“I would never waste your time, General.”

Hux sighed. “I know. Thank you, Captain. That’ll be all.” He covered his bracelet with his free hand and it blinked off. He noted with some irritation that his arms were sore. Perhaps he shouldn’t have caught himself, but then he would’ve fallen on top of Ren. _Still would’ve broken my fall_ , he thought wryly.

And then, for some god-forsaken reason, he wondered if Kylo’s _girl_ was on top of him right now, too. He felt an emotion he could actually understand at that: abject horror. He shook his head rapidly to try to get the thought out of head, but—of course—it didn’t work. He cursed again and stalked down the hallway toward the docking bay.

Whatever emotions he was feeling must’ve been residual from the stress of dealing with Adahn, he reasoned. But now he had to deal with Adahn once again. Or at least with his belongings. He felt more odd emotions thinking about Adahn. Truth be told, he _did_ care about him—or maybe he should say _had cared_ about him. He was dead and gone now, which was fine by Hux, but even so… he didn’t feel regret or remorse, but he felt more aware of something.

He’d blocked it out, but Hux knew now that Adahn had been telling the truth when he’d said Hux was the one who’d initiated the kiss. Adahn had kissed back, of course, but that was beside the point. And it had affected Hux so greatly that he _had_ helped him escape. It was treason against Snoke, to be sure. If he ever found out… Hux shook his head again. Adahn was long gone. There was no one left who could know.

Still, Hux knew. He’d felt for Adahn in a way that he’d never felt for anyone. And he’d make sure no one would ever find out.


End file.
